Badgertooth
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2015
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Im often asked about the stones I keep if I cycle through as many as I do and am prepared to sell such nice stones. So I thought Id do a run through of the logic and philosophy behind my keepers and some of the stones themselves.
Colour
So Theres a little bit of cognitive dissonance here as I am the first to preach that you shouldnt make colour the holy grail and that a plain Jane grey stone can be every bit as muddy and knife friendly as a peacock iromono stone fluffing its red and green plumage. Ive sagely dished out this advice as its a great way to score a bargain stone if you know what youre doing. But then, do as I say, not as a I do. I LOVE a red stone or stones that have that beautiful iromono and ikimurasaki interplay between reds, ochres, greens, yellows and purples. Think New Hampshire in fall and thats my jam. Dont get me wrong, they have to be good at what they do too but sometimes Ill keep it just cos it looks a certain way.
Sentiment
There are stones that have a measure of sentimental value. My first jnat was maruoyama shiro suita and an Ohira Renge suita from Shinichi. Relative to what I was earning and what Id spent on anything knife related up to that point in my life, it was a kings ransom. It started the precipitous freefall, they were the gateway drug. That, and theyre bloody good. A piece of Frankish blue gifted by another member is never going anywhere. Myles from Aranyik also handpicked an orange binsu for me as a thanks for the goodwill talking about his stones has generated (disclosure, I did and continue to recommend his stones not as some kind of shill, but because I think they represent a unique and good value natural sharpening option outside of the Japanese orthodoxy). Anyway, he didnt have to be he did and it means a lot to me.
Good Luck
I think Ive reached a point where I am getting good at picking stones and as such some of my purchases confirm this. But they also behave exactly as I thought they would and more-or-less duplicate other stones I am keeping that have these characteristics. So they get re-homed because I can speak with relative assurance as to their performance. So what I tend to find myself keeping are stones that are either exemplars of a type that has been duplicated but not surpassed by another stone. Or outliers in terms of performance. It could be a weird little nuance that I havent experienced in another stone and would have some trouble in replicating the luck of finding and replacing if I ever sold. It could be an uncommon combination of attributes such as a hard stone which is gentle on cladding, or a fine stone that leaves lots of contrast or a really nuanced attribute to the edge. Ill even forgive a little flaw if that quirk is good enough. I have a suita that spits particles, just few enough to tolerate and not damage the edge, but the edge is maybe my favourite. I also have a soft spot for rescue stones, like a puppy from the pound and these generally involves some repair work or rebuilding of bottoms to mount to bases etc. I grow to love them because they had an inherent quality worth saving
Bad Luck
Theres also some stones that are too cruddy to inflict on another human being. A great example is an Aiiwatani karasu I treated myself to at the end of the year. It arrived with surface damage. But it was 65mm deep. No problem, n boer maak n plan (old south African saying: A farmer hatches a plan). To me that meant two stones of 32mm thickness. I took it to the local granite top counter cutters and asked them if they could cut it half for me for a slab of beers. They did which was awesome of them but the centre of the stone was littered with pockets of iron deposits that were scratchy as hell. Ah well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and I can get a lifetime supply of fingerstones from it.
Mintyness
I go through a lot of aizu, its sort of a fetish, but the few Ive kept are smaller (handy for lugging between my basement and the kitchen) and the big one Ive kept because (and this is nuts) it smells kind of like mint and eucalyptus and chalk. I dont know where Id even begin framing the question to poor bastards selling me stones that Id like a minty one
Hope this give some insight. These are the photos I have to hand. I'll add more as I take others out for sharpening
Colour
So Theres a little bit of cognitive dissonance here as I am the first to preach that you shouldnt make colour the holy grail and that a plain Jane grey stone can be every bit as muddy and knife friendly as a peacock iromono stone fluffing its red and green plumage. Ive sagely dished out this advice as its a great way to score a bargain stone if you know what youre doing. But then, do as I say, not as a I do. I LOVE a red stone or stones that have that beautiful iromono and ikimurasaki interplay between reds, ochres, greens, yellows and purples. Think New Hampshire in fall and thats my jam. Dont get me wrong, they have to be good at what they do too but sometimes Ill keep it just cos it looks a certain way.
Sentiment
There are stones that have a measure of sentimental value. My first jnat was maruoyama shiro suita and an Ohira Renge suita from Shinichi. Relative to what I was earning and what Id spent on anything knife related up to that point in my life, it was a kings ransom. It started the precipitous freefall, they were the gateway drug. That, and theyre bloody good. A piece of Frankish blue gifted by another member is never going anywhere. Myles from Aranyik also handpicked an orange binsu for me as a thanks for the goodwill talking about his stones has generated (disclosure, I did and continue to recommend his stones not as some kind of shill, but because I think they represent a unique and good value natural sharpening option outside of the Japanese orthodoxy). Anyway, he didnt have to be he did and it means a lot to me.
Good Luck
I think Ive reached a point where I am getting good at picking stones and as such some of my purchases confirm this. But they also behave exactly as I thought they would and more-or-less duplicate other stones I am keeping that have these characteristics. So they get re-homed because I can speak with relative assurance as to their performance. So what I tend to find myself keeping are stones that are either exemplars of a type that has been duplicated but not surpassed by another stone. Or outliers in terms of performance. It could be a weird little nuance that I havent experienced in another stone and would have some trouble in replicating the luck of finding and replacing if I ever sold. It could be an uncommon combination of attributes such as a hard stone which is gentle on cladding, or a fine stone that leaves lots of contrast or a really nuanced attribute to the edge. Ill even forgive a little flaw if that quirk is good enough. I have a suita that spits particles, just few enough to tolerate and not damage the edge, but the edge is maybe my favourite. I also have a soft spot for rescue stones, like a puppy from the pound and these generally involves some repair work or rebuilding of bottoms to mount to bases etc. I grow to love them because they had an inherent quality worth saving
Bad Luck
Theres also some stones that are too cruddy to inflict on another human being. A great example is an Aiiwatani karasu I treated myself to at the end of the year. It arrived with surface damage. But it was 65mm deep. No problem, n boer maak n plan (old south African saying: A farmer hatches a plan). To me that meant two stones of 32mm thickness. I took it to the local granite top counter cutters and asked them if they could cut it half for me for a slab of beers. They did which was awesome of them but the centre of the stone was littered with pockets of iron deposits that were scratchy as hell. Ah well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and I can get a lifetime supply of fingerstones from it.
Mintyness
I go through a lot of aizu, its sort of a fetish, but the few Ive kept are smaller (handy for lugging between my basement and the kitchen) and the big one Ive kept because (and this is nuts) it smells kind of like mint and eucalyptus and chalk. I dont know where Id even begin framing the question to poor bastards selling me stones that Id like a minty one
Hope this give some insight. These are the photos I have to hand. I'll add more as I take others out for sharpening
